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We analyse medium resolution optical spectra of 14 narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies with average to strong iron emission. The targets were observed several times over a 2-yr period to probe the nature of spectral variations. Parameters determined from fitting the line profiles include relative strength, width, and asymmetry. We explore the applicability of various profile combinations to H β. We achieve satisfactory fits using three components: the narrow and broad components characteristic of all Seyfert 1 galaxies and that are reasonably represented by Gaussian profiles, and an intermediate component with width similar to that of the Fe ii lines. This intermediate component accounted for the largest fraction of the H β flux in most of our sample, especially when fitted with a Lorentzian instead of a Gaussian profile. This Lorentzian component improves the overall H β fits in most cases. In contrast to many other types of active galactic nucleus, no dramatic spectral changes were detected in our sample over the 2-yr period spanning this study, even though some of our targets are known for large and rapid X-ray variability. In particular, we find the variability of the Fe ii lines relative to the H β intermediate component to be minimal. For the [O iii] lines, we identified asymmetries in almost all our targets well represented by two Gaussians: a primary central and a second blueshifted component. These may signify different gas dynamics connected with nuclear outflow. As in several previous studies, we identify a clear correlation between [O iii] asymmetry and its core component width.

Service robots with advanced intelligence capabilities can potentially transform servicescapes. However, limited attention has been given to how consumers experiencing vulnerabilities, particularly those with disabilities, envisage the characteristics of robots’ prospective integration into emotionally intense servicescapes, such as long-term care (LTC). We take an interdisciplinary approach conducting three exploratory studies with consumers with disabilities involving Community Philosophy, LEGO ® Serious Play ®, and Design Thinking methods. Addressing a lack of consumer-centric research, we offer a three-fold contribution by 1) developing a conceptualization of consumer-conceived value of robots in LTC, which are envisaged as a supporting resource offering consumers opportunities to realize value; 2) empirically evidencing pathogenic vulnerabilities as a potential value-destruction factor to underscore the importance of integrating service robots research with a service inclusion paradigm; and 3) providing a theoretical extension and clarification of prior characterizations of robots’ empathetic and emotion-related AI capabilities. Consumers with disabilities conceive robots able to stimulate and regulate emotions by mimicking cognitive and behavioral empathy, but unable to express affective and moral empathy, which is central to care experience. While providing support for care practices, for the foreseeable future, service robots will not, in themselves, actualize the experience of “being cared for.”

Air pollution is associated with poor asthma outcomes. High-efficiency particulate air air purifiers may reduce air pollution and thus improve asthma outcomes. However, the efficacy of such devices for this purpose remains inconclusive.To investigate the effects of reducing the levels of pollutants on asthma outcomes in adults, using a novel Dyson high-efficiency particulate air air purifier.In a single-center, double-blinded, randomized controlled trial, participants (N = 50) were randomized at a 1:1 ratio to active filters (intervention) or to dummy filters (placebo) for a total of 78 weeks. The primary outcomes were the changes in Asthma Control Questionnaire 6 (ACQ6) and Asthma-specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) scores from baseline. The secondary outcomes were changes in indoor air pollution and lung function measurements. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic limited spirometry measurements to 2 time points and assessment of fractional exhaled nitric oxide and bronchial hyperresponsiveness to baseline only.Air pollutant levels were significantly lower in the intervention group compared with the placebo group (P = .0003). Both groups had a significant improvement in their ACQ6 and AQLQ. However, there were no significant between-group differences in ACQ6, AQLQ, or spirometry, compared with baseline in multivariable repeated measures models.The Dyson air purifier significantly improved air quality. However, there were no significant improvements in asthma control, quality of life, or measures of lung function in the intervention group compared with the control group despite improvements in indoor air quality. Larger, extended studies are required to confirm or refute these findings, especially given that the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic prevented the procurement of detailed objective data.ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04729530; ttps://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04729530.

BACKGROUND: Walking speed predicts important clinical outcomes in older adults and is one of the most significant indicators of frailty. OBJECTIVE: To test whether it is feasible to measure walking speed frequently and unobtrusively in the home. METHODS: A longitudinal feasibility study was conducted comprising the installation and monitoring of continuous measurement walking speed sensors in twenty frail older adults’ homes for a period of twelve weeks (eighteen participants completed the study). Manual walking speed, frailty level and health status were measured at four-weekly intervals. Qualitative interviews were conducted at the end of the study to assess participants’ attitudes to the sensors and to the concept of continuous in-home walking speed measurement. RESULTS: There was a high degree of variance to the number of walking speed measurements recorded by each participant’s sensor (median 1942.39, range 2-3617). Participants indicated acceptability of both the sensor within the home and the concept of in-home walking speed measurement. CONCLUSIONS: Where regular measurement was achieved, the results indicate that walking speed might be better viewed as a distribution rather than a single figure, taking into account the natural variation to walking speed in daily life. This study demonstrates the feasibility of continuous ambient in-home walking speed monitoring of older adults with a low-cost, easily deployed device.

Thorstensen (2020) recently argued that the cataclysmic variable (CV) LAMOST J024048.51+195226.9 may be a twin to the unique magnetic propeller system AE Aqr. If this is the case, two predictions are that it should display a short period white dwarf spin modulation, and that it should be a bright radio source. We obtained follow-up optical and radio observations of this CV, in order to see if this holds true. Our optical high-speed photometry does not reveal a white dwarf spin signal, but lacks the sensitivity to detect a modulation similar to the 33-s spin signal seen in AE Aqr. We detect the source in the radio, and measure a radio luminosity similar to that of AE Aqr and close to the highest so far reported for a CV. We also find good evidence for radio variability on a time scale of tens of minutes. Optical polarimetric observations produce no detection of linear or circular polarization. While we are not able to provide compelling evidence, our observations are all consistent with this object being a propeller system., MNRAS, accepted

Mechanical oil recovery (i.e., booming and skimming) is the most common tool for oil spill response. The recovered fluid generated from skimming processes may contain a considerable proportion of water (10 % ~ 70 %). As a result of regulatory prohibition on the discharge of contaminated waters at sea, vessels and/or storage barges must make frequent trips to shore for oil-water waste disposal. This practice can be time- consuming thus reduces the overall efficiency and capacity of oil recovery. One potential solution is on-site oil-water separation and disposal of water fraction at sea. However, currently available decanting processes may have limited oil/water separation capabilities, especially in the presence of oil-water emulsion, which is inevitable in mechanical oil recovery. The decanted water may not meet the discharge standards and cause severe ecotoxicological impacts. This paper therefore comprehensively reviews the principles and progress in oil/water separation, demulsification, and on-site treatment technologies, investigates their applicability on decanting at sea, and discusses the ecotoxicity of decanted water in the marine environment. The outputs provide the fundamental and practical knowledge on decanting and help enhance response effectiveness and consequently reducing the environmental impacts of oil spills.

Two unique wide-field and high-accuracy polarimeters named WALOP (Wide-Area Linear Optical Polarimeter)- North and WALOP-South are currently under development at the Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), India, to create a large area optical polarization map of the sky for the upcoming PASIPHAE sky survey. These instruments are designed to achieve a linear polarimetric measurement accuracy of 0.1% across a field of view (FoV) of 30×30 arcminutes. The WALOP-South instrument will be installed first on a 1 m telescope at the Sutherland Observatory, where the temperatures during the night can vary between 10 to -5°C. These temperature variations and the instrument’s pointing to various non-zenithal positions in the sky can introduce stress birefringence in the lenses, leading to time-varying instrumental polarization. This work estimates stress-induced birefringence due to thermal, and gravity stresses on WALOP-South lenses. Using the optomechanical model of the WALOP-South, we carried out Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulations in SolidWorks software to estimate the stresses for various scenarios of temperature, telescope pointing airmass, and lens mount material (aluminum and titanium). Further, we use the stress tensor analysis to estimate the principal stresses and their directions and consequent birefringence and retardance introduced in the lenses. The stressinduced birefringence will change the optical path length for orthogonal polarization states of the beam passing through the lenses and introduce phase retardation. Overall, with the lens mount design of the instrument, we find that the retardation and consequent instrumental polarization will be within the instrumental accuracy requirements. Additionally, the stress birefringence is found to be higher for aluminum compared to titanium mounts. We further incorporated this retardance in the instrument Mueller matrix estimation to understand its effects on the polarization measurements.

We report on the Swift/XRT Deep Galactic Plane Survey discovery and multiwavelength follow-up observations of a new intermediate polar (IP) cataclysmic variable, Swift J183920.1-045350. A 449.7 s spin period is found in XMM-Newton and NuSTAR data, accompanied by a 459.9 s optical period that is most likely the synodic, or beat period, produced from a 5.6 hr orbital period. The orbital period is seen with moderate significance in independent long-baseline optical photometry observations taken with the ZTF and SAAO telescopes. We find that the X-ray pulse fraction of the source decreases with increasing energy. The X-ray spectra are consistent with the presence of an Fe emission line complex with both local and interstellar absorption. In the optical spectra, strong Hα, H i, He i, and He ii emission lines are observed, all common features in magnetic CVs. The source properties are thus typical of known IPs, with the exception of its estimated distance of 2.26 − 0.83 + 1.93 kpc, which is larger than typical, extending the reach of the CV population in our Galaxy.

The concept of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is for a personalised, one-stop travel management platform digitally unifying trip purchase and delivery across all transport modes. MaaS has potential to reduce the environmental impact of personal mobility, yet its implementation has been hindered by challenges including consumer acceptance. There is little research on the issue, particularly in the context of existing MaaS exemplars. This paper draws on insights from research into a related concept, the Product Service System (PSS), which is a resource efficient system of products and services supported by networks and infrastructure. The application of findings from PSS research to MaaS may avoid duplicated efforts and offer a template for further research. The paper draws on two complementary views of PSS consumption, one shaped by consumers’ choice and the other by socio-material structures. The findings suggest that whilst consumers may choose to use PSS for mobility because it defines their identities, their consumption through PSS is constrained because they are locked in the geographical configuration of social life. These insights have implications for policies to support MaaS and suggest that whilst a view of consumer choice encourages interventions such as educational communications, socio-material structures inform interventions based on structural investment.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to air pollution is associated with cardiovascular disease, including increased morbidity and mortality rates. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this investigation was to assess the effect, in rats, of intratracheal instillation of particulate air pollution on biomarkers of leucocyte activation and vascular endothelial damage. METHODS: Air pollution particles (PM10) were instilled into rats, and blood samples were taken three days and six weeks post instillation. Plasma neutrophil elastase and VonWillebrand factor were measured by ELISA. RESULTS: Plasma neutrophil elastase increased from 175±44 ng/ml at baseline to 288±26 ng/ml 3 days post instillation (p = 0.038). vWF increased from 0.160±0.015 IU/ml at baseline to 0.224±0.015 IU/ml at 3 days post and 0.208±0.01 IU/ml at 6 weeks post (p = 0.006, ANOVA). sICAM-1 increased from 17.75±0.70 ng/ml at baseline to 19.03±0.33 ng/ml at 3 days post and 21.72±1.16 ng/ml at 6 weeks post (p = 0.009, ANOVA). CONCLUSION: Instillation caused prolonged systemic inflammation, activation of blood leucocytes and damage to the vascular endothelium.

This research explores how socio-technical imaginaries about electric vehicles and their users developed in the context of the Plugged-in Places programme in Milton Keynes, UK. Collectively imagined forms of social life and social order are reflected in the design and fulfilment of scientific and technological projects as imagined futures shape the technological search space and influence social responses to innovation (Jasanoff and Kim, 2009, 2013). This research focuses on the imaginaries of pioneering and prospective adopters of EVs in business organizations in Milton Keynes. The imaginaries of organizational buyers and fleet managers subtly shaped their exploration of early-market vehicles as they articulated the demands, barriers and motivations of users within their firm. This research draws on a thematic analysis of interviews with business and governmental actors, policy documents and trade literature discussing the early-market adoption of EVs by business organizations. The results identify the processes through which business adopters make sense of the new technology as well as the policies and organizations that supported their learning process. In addition to technical concerns, key aspects concerned patterns of use and demand, fitness for operations, and new business and operational models suited to the characteristics of EVs. Thus, it is concluded that the imaginaries of business adopters and of the organizations supporting them increasingly envision adopters not just as rational optimizers but also as complex problem solvers working out new ways to embed EVs in innovative, competitive configurations that work for them.

BACKGROUND Indoor air quality has been shown to influence asthma control and outcomes. Air purifiers and high-efficiency particulate air filtration devices can improve indoor air quality by reducing the indoor levels of air pollution and allergens. However, the influence of this improved indoor air quality on asthma control remains unclear; hence, randomized controlled trials are needed to further elucidate this phenomenon. OBJECTIVE This study aims to investigate the effect of reducing the levels of allergens and pollutants in the bedroom and living room through the use of Dyson air purifiers (Dyson Pure Cool) on asthma control. METHODS This is an 18-month long, investigator-led, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, single-center trial. Subjects will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to active or placebo Dyson filters. The primary outcome is the change in the scores of Asthma Control Questionnaire 6 and Asthma-specific Quality of Life Questionnaire from baseline. Secondary outcomes include changes in lung function (forced expiratory volume in one second, forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity ratio, and midexpiratory flows), peak expiratory flow measurements, airway hyperresponsiveness (assessed by methacholine bronchial challenge), fractional exhaled nitric oxide, and indoor air pollutant levels. The sample size will be 50 subjects, and all subjects will have a confirmed diagnosis of mild persistent to moderate persistent asthma along with an Asthma Control Questionnaire 6 score of >1.5. RESULTS This study was approved by the West Midlands Research Ethics Committee (18/WM/0277). The study results will be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals; presented at relevant scientific conferences; and shared in plain English with participants in our newsletters, in our clinics, and via the David Hide Asthma and Allergy Research Centre website. Our trial began in September 2019 and is expected to end in August 2021. CONCLUSIONS This is a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized, investigator-led study to investigate the efficacy of a novel air purifier in improving asthma control in adults. The trial period of 18 months will facilitate the collection of robust data and will therefore generate clear signals. However, this extended trial duration may lead to patient withdrawal. Furthermore, this trial is conducted at a single center and in a location with a homogenous cohort of people, which may affect translatability. Nonetheless, it is hoped that the findings of this trial may help further inform clinicians regarding the utility of this novel device as an adjunct in asthma care. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04729530; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04729530 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT DERR1-10.2196/28624

The WALOP-South instrument will be mounted on the 1 m SAAO telescope in South Africa as part of the PASIPHAE program to carry out a linear imaging polarization survey of the Galactic polar regions in the optical band. Designed to achieve polarimetric sensitivity of $0.05~\%$ across a $35\times35$ arcminute field of view, it will be capable of measuring the Stokes parameters I, q and u in a single exposure in the SDSS-r broadband and narrowband filters between $0.5~{\mu}m - 0.7~{\mu}m$. For each measurement, four images of the full field corresponding to linear polarization angles of 0 deg, 45 deg, 90 deg and 135 deg in the instrument coordinate system will be created on four detectors from which the Stokes parameters can be found using differential photometry. In designing the optical system, major challenges included correcting for the dispersion introduced by large split angle Wollaston Prisms used as analysers as well as other aberrations from the entire field to obtain imaging quality PSF at the detector. We present the optical design of the WALOP-South instrument which overcomes these challenges and delivers near seeing limited PSFs for the entire field of view., Comment: 31 pages, 18 Figures and 8 Tables. Accepted in the Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems

The black-hole X-ray transient MAXI J1820+07 (=ASSASN-18ey) discovered in March 2018 was one of the optically brightest ever seen, which has resulted in very detailed optical outburst light-curves being obtained. We combine them here with X-ray and radio light-curves to show the major geometric changes the source undergoes. We present a detailed temporal analysis that reveals the presence of remarkably high amplitude (>0.5 mag) modulations, which evolve from the superhump (16.87 h) period towards the presumed orbital (16.45 h) period. These modulations appear ~87d after the outburst began, and follow the Swift/BAT hard X-ray light-curve, which peaks 4 days before the radio flare and jet ejection, when the source undergoes a rapid hard to soft state transition. The optical modulation then moves closer to the orbital period, with a light curve peak that drifts slowly in orbital phase from ~0.8 to ~0.3 during the soft state. We propose that the unprecedentedly large amplitude modulation requires a warp in the disc in order to provide a large enough radiating area, and for the warp to be irradiation-driven. Its sudden turn-on implies a change in the inner disc geometry that raises the hard X-ray emitting component to a height where it can illuminate the warped outer disc regions., Accepted to MNRAS

We present an overview of the Intelligent Observatory (IO) and the architecture used at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) to develop instrument and telescope control and monitoring software. The IO aims to link and coordinate the usage of the SAAO telescopes and instruments for optimal efficiency. This will entail a Central Control System (CCS) selecting appropriate instruments and telescopes and controlling observations on these. This requires interoperable instrument and telescope control software. The SAAO software architecture is flexible, allows multiple user interfaces, and supports remote control and monitoring of both telescope and instrument through a web browser. Furthermore, the architecture allows an external agent (such as the IO CCS) simultaneous control of both instruments and telescopes.

One aspect of the SALT X-ray transient program is the identification of SALT observation time that overlaps with scheduled X-ray satellite observations. This is particularly relevant to the optical study of X-ray transients. Since SALT is a fixed elevation telescope, the target visibility is restricted to a circular annulus on the sky covering a total of 1 380 square degrees. In order to identify satellite targets that overlap with SALT visibility, a custom Python program was developed to scrape daily schedules of a number of satellites, and calculate the SALT annulus visibility period of the satellite targets to find overlapping observation time between the satellites and SALT. If a target observation time overlaps in visibility, the relevant information is published to a web page, as well as summarised in an email for dissemination by a mailing list. Transient alerts by email is an old established method, but it clogs inboxes and requires time during the day to evaluate for scheduling — followed by an independent process to request or submit a target for observation to a telescope. It also requires a human in the loop, which will become increasingly challenging as the frequency of alerts increase over time. To streamline the process, from evaluation to submission, SALT (and by extension the SAAO intelligent observatory) is in the midst of developing a prototype TOM for the X-ray transient observations. The aim of the prototype development is to identify and implement the components that will make SALT observations more easily undertaken for the transient community using TOMs1 for target management and observation. The current SALT X-ray transient email alert software, Xsats, contains all the components necessary to migrate to a TOM transient alert interface. Additionally, because the current email alerts have been running for a while, user needs and requirements are already folded into the code; thereby permitting a straight-up mapping onto new technology, using the existing system as independent verification. This paper presents the overall design describing the migration process, as well as application-based development that will be required.

The world is rapidly changing and the future is uncertain, yet until recently the dominant assumption of the local passenger transport community has been that the existing modal landscape of cars, buses and taxis will remain much as it is now. Such a view is now shifting however, with decision makers now appreciating the need to understand the implications of potentially radical changes in the technological, political, economic, social and environmental spheres. Accordingly, in August 2015 the Public Transport 2045 study was commissioned to consider how different local public transport futures might affect society over the next 30-years, and at how governments might best respond. The multi-phase study was based on individual in-depth interviews with 50 senior local passenger transport operators, government officials, lobbyists and experts from New Zealand and around the world; and four validation workshops with 28 sector stakeholders. The data was analysed using mostly pre-determined themes from which four scenarios were constructed and then validated. The implications are that the local passenger transport system is about to transition to a system of ‘shared mobility’; public transport will need to evolve to stay relevant but will remain important in any scenario; and the role of Government will be vital in overseeing the transition to the shared mobility era. These lessons are now being used to inform transport and broader policy decisions across New Zealand. Overall, the study is the first to apply such a global and qualitatively rich dataset to view the long-term future local passenger transport system as a whole.

WALOP (Wide-Area Linear Optical Polarimeter)-South, to be mounted on the 1m SAAO telescope in South Africa, is first of the two WALOP instruments currently under development for carrying out the PASIPHAE survey. Scheduled for commissioning in the year 2021, the WALOP instruments will be used to measure the linear polarization of around $10^{6}$ stars in the SDSS-r broadband with $0.1~\%$ polarimetric accuracy, covering 4000 square degrees in the Galactic polar regions. The combined capabilities of one-shot linear polarimetry, high polarimetric accuracy ($< 0.1~\%$) and polarimetric sensitivity ($< 0.05~\%$), and a large field of view (FOV) of $35\times35~arcminutes$ make WALOP-South a unique astronomical instrument. In a single exposure, it is designed to measure the Stokes parameters $I$, $q$ and $u$ in the SDSS-r broadband and narrowband filters between $500-700~nm$. During each measurement, four images of the full field corresponding to the polarization angles of $0^{\circ}$, $45^{\circ}$, $90^{\circ}$ and $135^{\circ}$ will be imaged on four detectors and carrying out differential photometry on these images will yield the Stokes parameters. Major challenges in designing WALOP-South instrument include- (a) in the optical design, correcting for the spectral dispersion introduced by large split angle Wollaston Prisms used as polarization analyzers as well as aberrations from the wide field, and (b) making an optomechanical design adherent to the tolerances required to obtain good imaging and polarimetric performance under all temperature conditions as well as telescope pointing positions. We present the optical and optomechanical design for WALOP-South which overcomes these challenges., Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2020. 12 Pages, 6 Figures, 6 Tables